13-Day Luxury Kwazulu Natal, Mountains, Safari & Coast

• Clients collect their self-drive vehicle at the airport.
• Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

The Drakensberg Mountains

Collect your rental car in Durban and drive inland towards the Drakensberg Mountains for three nights at Montusi Mountain Lodge. As the city falls away, the landscape opens into farmland and foothills before the great escarpment of the Northern Drakensberg rises ahead.

These days are deliberately flexible. Explore walking trails through the surrounding countryside, enjoy the mountain scenery or venture towards Royal Natal National Park and the dramatic Amphitheatre. With your own car and three nights in one place, you can choose longer walks or slower days according to the weather and your interests.

Montusi provides a peaceful base beneath the mountains and an unhurried beginning to your journey through KwaZulu Natal.

Main Destination:

Drakensberg Mountains (Mountain Range)

Activities:

• Nature hike/walk

Accommodation:

Montusi Mountain Lodge

• Luxury lodge located near Royal Natal (Drakensberg Mountains)

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Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)
• Drinks not included

Anglo-Zulu Battlefields

Leave the Drakensberg and continue into the KwaZulu Natal Battlefields for two nights at Fugitives’ Drift. This landscape was the setting for some of the most dramatic events of the Anglo Zulu War, and exploring it with expert guides brings the history vividly to life.

Visit the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, where the events of January 1879 are explained on the ground where they unfolded. The experience is as much about people and decisions as dates and military history, with exceptional storytelling providing context to the surrounding landscape.

Two nights allows time to explore without rushing before the journey turns from history towards wildlife.

Main Destination:

Rorke's Drift Battlefield (KZN Battlefields)

Activities:

• Nature hike/walk

Accommodation:

Fugitives' Drift

• Luxury lodge located at Rorke's Drift (KZN Battlefields)

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Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)
• Drinks not included

Safari in Hluhluwe iMfolozi

Continue east to Hluhluwe iMfolozi for three nights at Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge, set within one of South Africa’s most historic wildlife reserves. Here the pace changes as you leave the driving to experienced safari guides and begin exploring in open safari vehicles.

Morning and afternoon game drives search for the reserve’s wildlife, including rhino, elephant, buffalo, lion and a wide variety of plains game and birdlife. Hluhluwe iMfolozi is particularly significant for its long history of rhino conservation, adding another dimension to the wildlife experience.

Three nights provides two full safari days, giving you time for different areas, changing conditions and the unpredictability that makes safari so compelling. Between activities, return to Rhino Ridge to relax and enjoy the views across the reserve.

Main Destination:

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (KZN Parks)

Best Time To Visit May to September (Dry season)

High Season October to March (The park can get busy)

Best Weather April to May and September to October (Mild and little rain)

Wildlife in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park

ElephantCommon

GiraffeCommon

White RhinoCommon

BuffaloCommon

ZebraCommon

WildebeestCommon

Show more

HippoCommon

LionOccasional

CheetahOccasional

HyenaOccasional

Black RhinoRare

LeopardRare

Wild DogRare

Activities:

• Game drive (open-sided 4x4 vehicle) & walking safari (with an armed guide)

Accommodation:

Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge

• Luxury lodge located inside Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (KZN Parks)

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Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• All drinks (Premium wines & liquors might be excluded)

Relax on the Ballito Coast

Leave the bush behind and travel south to the KwaZulu Natal coast for four nights at Sala Beach House, where the final chapter of the journey is deliberately slower. Set beside the Indian Ocean, this is time to relax after the mountains, Battlefields and safari.

Days can be as quiet or active as you choose. Spend time beside the pool or on the beach, enjoy coastal walks and the warm Indian Ocean, or use your car to explore more of the surrounding coastline.

Four nights gives you time to properly unwind rather than treating the coast as a brief stop. It provides a relaxed and luxurious ending to a journey that has moved through four very different KwaZulu Natal landscapes.

Main Destination:

Ballito (Town & Beach)

Activities:

• No wildlife-viewing activities on these days

Accommodation:

Sala Beach House

• Luxury hotel located in Ballito (Town & Beach)

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Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)
• Drinks not included

Depart from Durban

Enjoy a final morning beside the Indian Ocean before driving back to Durban. Return your rental car and continue with your onward travel arrangements, bringing your journey through the mountains, Battlefields, wildlife reserves and coast of KwaZulu Natal to a close.

Main Destination:

Durban Airport (Durban)

Activities:

• No wildlife-viewing activities on this day

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

• Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
• Clients return their self-drive vehicle at the airport.